


Burning

by KuraraOkumura



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Multi, psychological manipulations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-08-09
Packaged: 2018-01-13 04:20:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1212460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuraraOkumura/pseuds/KuraraOkumura
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Following his last encounter with the Female Titan, Eren Jaeger has fallen in heat. Not knowing how to deal with his sexual urges, he goes to Major Hanji Zoe for help. Major mistake indeed. Follows Levi's reluctant involvement in the crisis – and a few others' besides.<br/>SPOILERS! to Season 1 of the Anime.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sexual Lobotomization with Hanji Zoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D

Chapter 1: Sexual Lobotomization with Hanji Zoe

 

 "Major Hanji? May I come in?"

 Hanji Zoe looked up from the paper work scattered on her desk. "Hum? Oh, Eren! Come in, come in!" She stood from her chair and walked around her desk to where Eren stood at her open door. "Have you come to tell me that you're finally going to let me cut your arm off to see if it grows back? Don't worry about it, I've got everything ready outside in case you turn into a Titan. It might be a tad painful since you'll be conscious when I cut off you arm, but-"

 "Ah, Major Hanji, I'm sorry, but that's not what I came to see you about," Eren interrupted, faltering only slightly at her flow of words. Onslaught would probably be a better word.

 Hanji's eyes widened. "Hum? It's not?" she asked, a stricken look on her face.

 Eren shook his head, then took a hesitant step forward. "Major Hanji, may I come in? It is sort of a – ah – private matter."

 Hanji's face brightened, and she clapped her hands enthusiastically. "Of course, Eren, of course! Please, come in, take a seat! Now what is this private matter about exactly? Sounds interesting!"

 Eren took the seat on the other side of Major Hanji's desk. The Major was possibly the only member of the Recon Corps with two seats around her desk. The others usually just made you stand in front of them. Just now, he was unbelievably grateful for that extra seat.

 "Major Hanji, have you ever heard of a Titan being in heat before?"

 Hanji Zoe piped up at that, an intensely inquisitive look on her face, and folded her hands on top of each other on her desk. Her eyes bore into Eren when she said, "No, Eren, I've never heard of such a thing." She scratched her chin, and Eren would have laughed at that if it hadn't been for the seriousness of the matter. "But I suppose, given the fact that you are not exactly a _normal_ Titan, but a human-based one… Hum, yes, it would make sense. Your human hormones, coupled with your Titan's…" She looked at him again. "Eren, am I understanding this right? You are in heat, are you not?"

 "Ah, yes Sir- I mean, Major Hanji," the brunette answered, squirming uncomfortably on his seat.

 Hanji hummed. "Hum, and your last encounter with the Female Titan was last week, was it not?" Not waiting for Eren's answer, she continued, "And if I remember correctly, your bodies started fusing when you were about to kill her. Given that both you and Military police Cadet Annie Leonhardt are in the prime of your pubescence years, and that Annie Leonhardt is now in a stasis-state… Yes, it does indeed make sense. Tell me, Mr Jaeger, what exactly makes you think that you are in heat?"

 Eren's face reddened noticeably at her question. Hanji Zoe's eyes fell to where his hands were cupped in his lap. Hum, well maybe his insistent squirming wasn't just due to the uncomfortableness of her seats, after all.

 "Oh," she deadpanned, openly staring at his hand-covered crotch, and Eren seemed to shrink into his seat under her inquisitive stare. "May I see?"

 The poor trainee looked up, half-shocked, half-embarrassed, and opened his mouth to answer.

 "No, of course I can't see, stupid me." The Major shook her head as though to scold herself. "I'm sorry, I tend to forget that young males of your age are often shy about their genital parts." Eren, if it was possible, turned an even darker shade of red at that. "Now, how long has this…phallus been in existence?"

 "Six days, Major Hanji," Eren managed to answer.

 "Oh, well, I suppose that confirms my theory regarding the Female Titan's fusing with you." She looked at him curiously. "Eren, are you telling me you've spent six entire days like this?" Again dismissing his lack of answer, Hanji stood and walked around her desk to kneel in front of the red-faced Recon Corps trainee. "Do you need me to help you?"

 Now that did it. Eren stood precipitately, sending his chair sprawling backwards as he backed towards the closed door. Hanji only looked confused as she looked up at him from her place on the floor. "Did I do something wrong?" She shot up to a standing position and strode towards him, grabbing his chin forcefully to examine his eyes. "Do you feel like turning into a Titan? Do you want me to restrain you?"

 "N- No!" Eren stammered, his eyes wide. But damn, the thought of being restrained- _Shut up you idiot!_ "Huh, Major Hanji, can you please move off me? Onegaishimasu!"

 Hanji Zoe shrugged, satisfied – though a little disappointed – that he wasn't about to turn into a Titan, and walked back to her desk, saying, "I understand that you don't want my help, Cadet Jaeger, but really, I can't see why not." She turned to him as she sat down in her chair, and her eyes were curious once more. "Are you gay, Eren?"

 The trainee sputtered for a few seconds before regaining part of his dignity. He straightened. "What makes you think that, Major Hanji?"

 The brunette woman shrugged and turned in her seat to look out her window thoughtfully. "It's the only reason I see that you would not allow me to help you, that's all." She looked back to him. "Or perhaps you already like someone else?"

 Eren's eyes widened considerably as he took in her expression. "Major Hanji, are you saying I should indulge in my needs?"

 Hanji Zoe raised her eyebrows, looking surprised. "Well, I don't see why not. Unless you fear that you might be driven to transform under the stimulation of an intercourse?"

 Eren looked away, embarrassed. "Well, no. It's just, I didn't know what to do about it. I thought you might be able to help me."

 She looked closer at him, her face graver now. "Eren, have you never been touched before? Have you ever kissed someone?" The look on his face was apparently enough of an answer for her. "I see." She stood, but to Eren's relief, stayed where she was. "Cadet Jaeger, your sexual urges are not going to make you murder someone. Though being in heat as you are now is not a regular human reaction, and is most likely due to your Titan side, it is not a dangerous state. You have two options; either find a partner – or partners, mind you – to help you with this…state of uncomfort, or force yourself into abstinence, knowing that it will be not only painful but also useless. There are no rules here preventing you from engaging in intercourse with your comrades.

 "If you choose the first option, there is only one thing I would request. When you engage in intercourse with one of your comrades, I would ask for the first time, at the very least, to be under my watch. For strict security purposes, of course. We have to be absolutely sure that you are not going to transform during intercourse. That is not an option. It's an order." Hanji tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You can see it as a rite of passage. If you pass that first examination successfully, without turning into a Titan or killing someone in the process, then you will be free to engage in intercourse with anyone you like, and not necessarily under my watch." She looked back down at him, a new look in her eyes. "Oh, I just remembered – it would be better if your first time were with a man, considering the much more aggressive nature of male-to-male intercourse. I trust that you don't mind that?" When Eren failed to answer, she took it as a no and smiled enthusiastically. "Great! Then I'll notify Levi immediately."

 "Le- the Corporal? Major Hanji, I- I'm sorry, but why?"

 Hanji looked at him, surprised. "Why Levi, you mean? Well, I don't suppose you'd rather Commander Erwin, would you? Corporal Levi is simply the one of our male higher ranked officers closer to your age. I assumed you would be more likely to choose him as your partner." She cocked her head curiously. "Was I wrong?"

 "No – I just – It's just – I don't – I'd rather not bother the Corporal with this, and I-"

 "Oh, don't worry about that," Hanji said, walking towards him, still standing beside the closed door, and dropping a hand on his shoulder. "The Corporal has, just like most of us, really, nothing better to do, these days. Ever since Annie Leonhardt was captured, the Titans have been relatively calm, as has been the city. Now, you just stay here. I'll be back shortly with Levi."

 And with that, she left, muttering about she was going to have to find a better place for this than her own office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D


	2. Don't Get Burnt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The awaited encounter between the Corporal and Eren Jaeger!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This is where the 'Explicit' rating first takes effect.
> 
> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D

Chapter 2

 

 

"You must be joking."

 Hanji shook her head, the corners of her lips twitching with mirth as hard as she tried to hide it from the Corporal.

 "I'm not. Oh come on Levi, it's a great experiment! Now my interest is spiked, and I want to know what happens when Eren has sex."

 "Well I don't."

 "Now now, Levi, you know that's a lie," Hanji crooned maliciously. "You think I haven't seen the way you look at him during training? When his body's all slick with sweat and he's grunting with the effort… Wouldn't you like him to be grunting from something other than mere 3D Manoeuver Gear training? Wouldn't you like to see him rid of all those clothes so you can watch the way his muscles move under his skin, so you can watch him sweat under you and-"

 "You talk too much, Hanji."

 Hanji drew back from him where he sat at his sparkling clean desk. "What, would you rather I ask Erwin to do it?"

 Levi made a disgusted sound. "I didn't need that image in my head, thank you. Now leave my office. Your boots are dirty, and so are your thoughts."

 "Well, your tongue is pretty sharp, Levi, but I'm sure it'd be put to better use elsewhe-"

 "Get out of here," Levi snapped, not moving from his chair and working through the papers on his desk. "Get out of here and get on with your life, Hanji. Stop pestering the poor brat."

 "I'm not pestering him, Levi. The kid's had a boner for the last six days. What, do you think it'd be better for him if you left him like that like that?"

 "What does this have to do with me anyway? Why don't _you_ help him, and leave me out of your experiments, as you usually do?"

 "Well, I did offer to give him a blowjob, but the boy jumped back half a mile. I hoped he was turning into a Titan, but no luck – I supposed then that he was either gay or liked someone else already."

 "And what – you thought that that someone might just be me, his direct superior and the one formally charged with cutting off his head if he came to loose control?" Levi sounded sceptical, and he looked up at Hanji with raised eyebrows. "I bet him up in public, Hanji, and I threatened to kill him a bunch of other times. Do you really think I'm the one he likes after all that?"

 "Who knows."

 "Ask Krista," Levi said finally, bringing his gaze back down to his papers. "Or Blouse, or even his cousin Mikasa Ackerman – she's so fond of him, I'm sure she'd have no problem giving him that little bit of help."

 "Are you deaf? I already told you, I need a man for this. If he's going to turn into a Titan while having sex, he's not going to do it while fucking easy with a girl or by having his cock sucked off. On the other hand, if a man takes the top position, there'll be a lot more pain, possibly even blood – probably the closest we can come to the conditions he usually needs to turn in other, battle-like situations. Am I making myself clear yet?"

 There was a short silence, and then-

 "You're a pain when you want to be, Hanji. Actually, that's _all_ the time. Fine, you win – I'll do it. Where's the kid?"

 "In my office. I trust you know where that is, Levi?"

 " _Please._ " Levi rose from his chair, and when he stepped out into the corridor, Hanji was close behind. "We need a secure place in case he does turn into a Titan. Hanji, go to the training clearing outside – the second one from the first Recon Corps garrison, you know what I'm talking about. Nobody uses it anymore. Set up the same arrow cannons we used to trap the Female Titan, in the trees, where they can't be seen – at least eight of them. I'll explain it to the brat anyway, but I don't want anyone asking questions if they see a Titan trap set up in the middle of our grounds. Go. I'll be there shortly with Eren."

 Hanji clapped. "Ouh, you're even calling him by his first name now!"

 Levi glared up at her. Despite his shorter height, he always managed to put what he lacked in height into his death glares. Hanji pouted, disappointed, and walked off in the other direction when they reached an embranchment in the corridor, a cheerful leap to her steps. Levi closed his eyes and stopped walking. Now he had to get the kid.

* * *

 

  _I didn't even get to make a choice,_ Eren thought dazedly. _She gave me my options but I never got to make a choice. She just chose for me._

 He looked up to the ceiling from his seat opposite Hanji's empty chair. _Oh come on now. Because you'd have chosen the other option?_ He huffed. _Maybe not, but it'd still be nice to have a choice sometimes._

"Yeah, I know that feeling," he said outloud, then hit his head on the table, mentally scolding himself for his stupidity. Why had he come to Hanji in the first place? He should have known something like this would happen, and now he was stuck waiting for her to come back with Lev- _Ohmygod, I'm going to have sex with the Corporal!_

He blanched. He didn't really believe it himself, and was pretty sure the taciturn Corporal would find a way out of it, but the thought still sent a thrill of anticipated pleasure right down to his groin. Okay, well, he couldn't deny it – he was definitely looking forward to that, if it was going to happen. Whether that was due to the now-seriously-painful hard-on he'd been sporting for the last six days, or to the actual thought of having sex with Levi, he couldn't tell. _Do you care?_ Eren shook his head bemusedly. _Nope, you don't._

 "Brat," a voice said behind him, and Eren jumped off his chair and swivelled around in milliseconds, reflexes honed by months of training. He saw the faintest trace of approval in the Corporal's eyes as he held his salute, and then it disappeared, and the older man turned away. "Follow me. We're not going to do this here."

 A chill went down Eren, quite similar to the one he'd had seconds ago thinking about that velvet voice. He nearly groaned, but held it back just in time, and fell into step with the Corporal. _He said, 'We're not going to do this here.' Does that mean he agreed to Major Hanji's request?_

 Eren gulped and gathered his courage. "Sir, where are we going?"

 Levi didn’t even look back. "Can’t you think for yourself? I'm bringing you to a secured terrain. If you turn into a Titan, we need to be able to restrain you."

  _Ohmygod._ Eren inhaled a big lungful of air. Oh yeah. Levi was totally planning on doing it. And knowing that, Eren found that he really couldn’t bring himself to speak.

 A few minutes and dark corridors later, with Levi frowning distastefully and tsking at every spot of dust and dirt he saw, which was often, they were outside, walking towards the woods on the far side of the main training grounds. Eren still hadn't said a word, and his stomach was painfully knotted down with anxiety and nervous anticipation.

 They walked for another two minutes, and when they reached a clearing surrounded by strong, high oak trees, Levi stopped and finally turned back to face the younger boy. Eren's heart skipped a beat, but the Corporal made no move towards him. Instead, Levi pointed up trees around the clearing, making a sweeping motion to indicate their circumference.

 "Some of those trees have traps settled in them. Do you remember the harpoon cannons I showed you last week, the ones we used to capture the Female Titan?" Eren nodded, but Levi wasn't looking at him. He continued. "The Major Hanji has set up several of those same cannons around this clearing. Should you change into your Titan form, they will be set off." He pointed above their heads. "See those cables? They're triggers. Your Titan form's height still snap them, and set off the arrow cannons. I doesn't where you are in this clearing, they'll be aimed at the right spot, wherever your head pushes the cables upwards will tug the cannons in the right direction." Levi's gaze finally fell on the younger boy's face, and he stared harshly at Eren. "There are enough of those cannons that you won't be able to move, won't be able to regenerate your wounds because the harpoons will remain inside you for as long as it takes to persuade you to turn back. Do I make myself clear, Cadet Jaeger?"

 "Hai!" Eren said loud and clear, straightening into a salute, his right fist on his heart and his left fist against his back.

 Levi moved in and pressed a hand to his mouth, hissing a warning, his eyes flashing at the younger boy. "Shut up, you idiot. I personally don't care if one of your classmates surprise us here, but I don't think _you'd_ appreciate the taunts you'd get from some of them if they did see us."

 Eren gulped. Levi was close to him. Way too close. The Corporal's eyes latched onto Eren's throat as he swallowed; watched his Adam's apple bob up and down nervously. They flicked back to his face, and Eren stifled a gasp against the Corporal's hand. He'd never seen Levi's eyes like that – darker, his pupils dilated, penetrating and unbelievably _intense_ rather than bored. Quickly, not leaving Eren enough time to react, Levi backed him against one of the trees. A lightning-fast glance upwards reassured Eren that the cables were still there, gleaming like morning dew on cobwebs roughly five meters above their heads, intertwining like a white, sparkling maze with no discernable exit.

 Eren looked back down, and something else made itself known. Levi had pressed his leg in between Eren's, forcing the trainee's knees apart and rubbing against his erection. Eren's eyes widened impossibly as a shot of electricity jolted through him, and his eyes rolled back in his head. He couldn't hold in the moan that escaped him, and as his knees buckled, Levi's eyes came level with his, the shorter man holding him upright with his knee under his ass. Levi's right hand, the one that wasn't over his mouth, slid down the other's body, feeling around Eren's narrow but muscular chest, dancing around on clothed skin, before unexpectedly dipping into Eren's pants and untucking his shirt to slide his hand up his finally bared sides. The taller boy's hands gripped onto Levi's upper arms, tightening convulsively as those cold, thin hands travelled up his chest, latched onto a nipple and _tugged._

 Eren ground forward with a startled gasp, shoving the lower half of his body into the other man's. The friction of his clothed erection with the other man's half-hard member made him pant short puffs of breath behind Levi's hand. To his disappointment, the hand inside his shirt withdrew, leaving a trail of fire behind, and suddenly both of Levi's hands were cupping his face and there was a hot mouth on his, soft and gentle and beautiful. Something wet tapped at his bottom lip, and Eren opened his mouth, shivering in something other than just lust at the feel of his Corporal's tongue sliding against his. Levi's hands cradled his face, tender and warm, his head tilted at an angle as they kissed, slowly, languorously. Levi was obviously leading this kiss, since Eren had no experience in kissing past watching some of his fellow trainees from afar. He was leading, he was master in everything, and yet the sweet movements of that mouth against his own seemed so far from the Corporal's brash, rough temperament, that it disarmed Eren completely and absolutely.

 The younger boy let himself go, left behind the shadow of his stress and anxiety, brought both his hands up to tug at the shorter man's hair, and kissed him back with everything he had.

 The kiss turned rough, both of them now yanking at the other's hair in a miniature show of strength to determine who would dominate the kiss. It was only seconds before Levi won, and Eren was shoved back brutally into the tree, gasping in slight shock as slim and agile hands tugged at his belt and pulled his pants down, returning to his hair then to renew the kiss. The pressure of his pants against his member gone, Eren ground forward again, no longer shy about wanting the other man. Levi wanted him too; he could tell by the now fully hard bulge pressing against his own. Eren's hands slipped into Levi's belt, and he too began unfastening the other man's pants, only slightly slower than Levi had been.

 Then Levi's pants fell to his ankles, and the Corporal's hand was suddenly tugging at Eren's erection with one hand, keeping his head in place against their kiss with the other.

 "Levi," Eren still managed to gasp out, his eyes bulging. He didn't know what to think, didn't know what to do, didn’t know what to make of the pressure building inside him and of that foreign, calloused hand stroking him harshly. He pushed feebly at the other's chest, no really sure whether he wanted this or not. Another stroke, harder than the others, followed by a finger running over the slit of his cock, had him growling into Levi's ear. His eyes flashed, and he fisted his hands into the shorter man's shirt. Yeah, he definitely wanted this. Wanted this more than he'd ever wanted anything else. If he a Titan came running at them right now, he didn’t think he'd care – not with his Corporal's hands working him up like they were now.

 "Eren," that velvet voice said into his ear. It was coming out shorter than usual, or maybe Eren was just imagining that. "You're not turning, are you? If you feel like changing…"

 "No," Eren snarled into Levi's ear, some animalistic instinct fighting its way to the surface. No, he definitely wasn't about to turn into a Titan; the primal urge that had morphed his moans of pleasure into growls and snarls had nothing to do with the way he felt when he was about to turn. Nothing at all. In fact, the two feelings couldn't have been farther opposed.

 "Eren," Levi whispered again, and this time Eren was definitely not imagining the breathiness in that voice. He growled in response, his hands still fisted in the other's shirt as Levi's hand continued to stroke him inside his boxers. "Eren, have you ever touched yourself before?"

 He couldn't answer; Levi's face was buried into his neck, cheek rested on his shoulder, breathing in and out through his open mouth. His tongue flicked out, licking at the younger boy's neck, followed by nipping teeth; it was all Eren could do to shake his head.

 "Eren, have you ever been touched before?" Levi asked again.

 Again, he shook his head, and suddenly the teeth at his neck were doing much more than just nipping, and Levi was biting him, breaking through the first few layers of the skin between his shoulder and his neck – _marking_ him, Eren realized, breathless. And the hand on his cock had slipped around his navel, around his hips, and was now prodding him, stimulating his asshole, and Eren bucked forward in pure, unadultered _shock_ at the intrusion. But the movement only brought him closer to Levi, and the older man tightened his left arm around Eren's waist, stilling his frantic, panicked movements, his nose nudging the younger boy's neck gently.

 "Shh," Levi breathed against his skin, that skin still stinging slightly from the bite, his free left hand rubbing up and down the small of the other's back, soothing him almost tenderly. "It's fine, everything's fine. This is normal, Eren, perfectly normal."

 And it was. Never mind the fact that Levi usually never engaged in anything physical with anyone – never mind the fact that this had all started out as Hanji's idea, that the only reason he'd agreed to it was because the boy was in heat – this was _normal. Perfect. Beautiful._ He _belonged_ here, _Eren_ belonged here. He couldn't deny the sudden feeling of utter _rightness_ that gripped his heart when the younger boy relaxed in his embrace, loosening against Levi's extended finger. Levi tried again, this time leaving the boy some time to adjust as he slid his pre-cum-coated finger in. He curled his finger inward, and Eren tensed against him, inhaling sharply as he closed his rectum around Levi's finger. Seconds later the boy unwound, and as Levi peppered kisses and soothing words around Eren's neck, he added a second finger. Eren's hands shot up, not to push him away this time but to grab at the other's upper arms, pulling him closer, tighter, and he was whimpering and panting and growling as his body screamed for more – anything, just _more._

"Corporal," Eren whispered, not knowing exactly what it was that he wanted to say. And then the Corporal added another finger, a _third_ finger, and Eren's unsaid words came out of him in a rush of breath. He moaned, and Levi Rivai kissed his neck again, and he couldn't quite recall what it was that he'd been so nervous about when he'd followed Levi out here. Eren's eyes fluttered closed, not reacting as Levi's left hand pulled his boxers down his ass and the breeze caused goosebumps to erupt on his skin. Levi's fingers withdrew, but still he said nothing, basking in the sunlight and in this feeling of pure contentment with his head thrown back against the tree and his long eyelashes brushing his cheeks.

 "Eren."

 The Corporal's fingers skimmed over his lips, and Eren opened his eyes to look at him. His lips parted slightly, and the Corporal's eyes fell on those and both their breathing caught in their throats. Levi pressed closer to him, and that was when Eren realized that the older man had also discarded his boxers. His eyes looked down and then back up to gaze into Levi's. "What happens now?" the younger boy said, his voice relaxed and content and light as he spoke.

 Levi looked at him. "Do you trust me?"

 "I don't know," he said, and it was true.

 "I trust you." Levi cradled his face again, laying their foreheads against each other. "This is going to hurt a little. But only at the beginning. Do you believe me?"

 "Yes," he said, and that was also true.

 Levi kissed his lips, a ghosting touch, a fleeting contact that made Eren trust him just that tiny bit more. Levi reached up on his tiptoes, mouth brushing the other's ear, and the words he said next were lost to Eren as his Corporal's member slid slowly into him, surprising him, and he arched his back against Levi's heaving chest. Levi had been right. It was painful. Implausibly so. But he still believed him when he'd said that it wouldn't last. He knew he'd been right to believe.

 Eren's chest heaved. He struggled for air as his spine creaked and groaned under the spikes of pain lancing up it from his backside. Levi held him close, stroking his hair as though he were comforting a child and pressing kisses to his collarbone and neck, the highest parts of him that he could reach without having to pull out what little of him was inside the other boy. He gave Eren what time he needed to adjust to the feel of him, and when the younger boy relaxed and half-slumped in his arms, he pushed in that tiny bit more, just enough to make Eren moan and writhe against him as blood rushed to his face. He drove in deeper, and before he knew it he was up to the hilt inside Eren and the other boy was breathing hard over his shoulder, hands grasping Levi's arms tight enough to bruise.

 "Eren," Levi rasped out, his voice tight from the control he was exerting over himself. "Eren, you're _burning_. You're burning inside." And he was. Levi hadn't noticed at first, preoccupied with Eren's pain and the near-novelty of that tight heat engulfing him, but now he realized that the Titan shifter wasn't just hot – he was burning inside, and it was like sticking his dick inside a furnace and being spared the burns – _ecstasy._

Then, for the first time since they'd gotten here, Eren's mouth was on his neck, kissing it, nipping it lightly with his left hand cradling his neck, _seducing_ him even while he was in the process of being ass-fucked. Just to prove his silent point, Levi moved a little, and Eren's mouth fell open, hands opening and closing sporadically. Levi pressed him back against the tree again, and gave a stronger thrust. Eren's head rolled back to a thud against the tree, and slowly the two of them began moving together, rhythmically, perfectly synchronised, Levi moving in and out of that scorching, searing fire, slowly at first, then faster as Eren spurred him on. The younger boy's moans came louder, more hurried, insistent and demanding. Levi rocked him back and forth, his own pants coming shorter and faster, and occasionally Eren's name fell from his lips in a sort of hushed whisper.

 Levi held him close, both arms wrapped around the taller boy's waist and chest, mouth open slightly against an erect nipple, sucking and licking and biting restlessly even as he continued to thrust inside Eren. Then the other boy started, and a curse fell from his lips as his hands flew up to claw at Levi's back; he'd found Eren's prostrate.

 "Got you," he whispered breathily, and from there he knew it was only a matter of time for both of them. He reached up, and his mouth found Eren's, and they kissed again, full of need and lust, teeth clinking and tongues clashing, that unbearable yet delicious pressure building exponentially in their lower stomachs. Seconds later, and Eren opened his mouth and _snarled_ into Levi's mouth, his eyes flashing animalistically as his entire body tensed and he came, hard, over the Corporal's stomach. Eren howled, his arms around the other man tightening to the point that Levi's ribs groaned painfully, and Levi gasped, that added pain with the pressure around his cock making his eyes roll back in his head, and he, came violently, his body jolting even as he rode out both of their orgasms.

 Eren's name tumbled from his kiss-bruised lips, and it was only then that Levi realized that it was his name that the younger boy had howled to the sky as he came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D


	3. Mistakes and Onlookers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eren reminisces, Levi gets a fright, and Erwin Smith butts in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D

Chapter 3: Mistakes and Onlookers

* * *

 _I didn't heal.  
_  
Eren was in the boys' dormitory, and more precisely inside the double bathroom that served for all the guys of the compound save the higher ups. It was early in the morning, perhaps four o'clock judging by the absence of the sun in the slowly rosing sky and the slowly disappearing moon. Everyone else was asleep, but Eren had been up and running for an hour already. Now, having taken his morning shower, he was standing in front of their unique mirror, examining the bite mark that the Corporal had left on his neck the day before.  
  
 _The Corporal._ Eren blushed, glad for the solitude provided by his sleeping comrades.  
  
Normally, any injuries he got as a human were healed up in a few hours, sometimes even minutes; though the regenerating ability was slightly weaker and uncertain in his human form than in his Titan form, it still very much existed. Yet there was the imprint of Levi's teeth into his skin, and it didn't look much different to what it had been yesterday. Eren, having collapsed on his bed not half an hour after he and the Corporal had finished, hadn't taken much more than a few seconds before his bed to admire the way the older man had marked him, before taking a quick shower. But still, he was nearly positive that the bite didn't look any better. It wasn't infected, which was good. It was pretty damn deep, but it hadn't bled, which possibly wasn'tso good. The bruises on his back and hips left by Levi's hands and fingers were still there, too, and the pain in his backside told Eren he'd be walking with a limp today.

All this was rather perplexing. He figured he should probably go see Major Hanji with the information, but after what she had engineered between him and Levi, and the enormity of it all, he wasn't quite sure he ever wanted to see her face again. If she ever brought the subject up to him, he was certain he'd drop dead from mortification – for there was no doubt now, in his mind, that she had been watching everything, possibly from one of those trees that the Corporal had pointed out. Her request – order – to be allowed to watch his first time had come back to him too late, and by then his mind was too fuzzy and he felt too good to bother stopping what he was doing and ask Levi to tell her to go away. Now, he was really starting to regret that decision.

 _Does this mean I'm not a virgin anymore?_ Eren had no idea. He'd said the truth to Levi when he'd asked if he'd ever touched himself or been touched by anyone else before. If he was completely honest, he'd never even thought about it. His body had, until this past week, never _burned_ that way, and when it had happened he'd had no clue whatsoever how to deal with it. He barely knew how babies were made, and that was only thanks to a crash course Mikasa had given him when he'd seen two of his comrades of the Legion kissing and had asked her about it. No, kissing didn't make babies – he knew that much at least. He also knew that men weren’t supposed to be able to carry babies, but Mikasa had never told him anything about how men had sex together. He didn't even know if it was normal for them to do so. She'd never said anything about touching himself either. Was he going to get pregnant? Eren looked down at his flat stomach and eyed his well-defined abs critically. He damn-well hoped not. That would definitely ruin his military career.

He'd crashed into bed at about two o'clock in the afternoon the previous day, no less than thirty minutes after his little…encounter with the Corporal. He'd slept fourteen hours straight. He didn't think he'd ever felt that tired or slept so long before in his life. He knew why that was though; Mikasa had explained to him during that same crash course that men released endorphins with their orgasms, which was a natural chemical produced by the body which made them want to sleep after their peak. Mikasa hadn't sounded too happy about it either, and had bitterly explained to him how some men fell asleep right on top of their partners not seconds after their 'ejaculation'. Eren mouthed the word silently. It felt weird in his mouth, and he still had trouble pronouncing it. It felt like his mouth was full of moss or something equally filling and incapacitating.

When Levi had put a finger inside him, he'd honestly been shocked. Having had no time to ask the Major Hanji, he hadn't had a clue how the Corporal and him were supposed to have sex. Eren didn't have a vagina, or at least he didn't think so, which left him thoroughly perplexed as to what was supposed to happen between them. But Levi had understood his shock, and his reassurance that this was 'perfectly normal' had allowed Eren to relax and just enjoy himself. And _damn_ had he enjoyed himself.

Eren grinned at himself in the mirror as he thought about it, and his grin faltered and then fell as a chill of pleasure shot up his spine. He stifled his moan, a little surprised and definitely mystified by his body's reaction. Was this what it felt like to want someone? When just thinking about them made you shiver and moan in pleasure without any direct physical stimulation? If that was the case, he definitely wanted Levi.

He didn’t know if Levi wanted _him,_ though. Sure enough, he _had_ yesterday, but what of today? Maybe the Corporal had had enough. Maybe he never wanted to see his face again.

Eren's heart gave a painful and unexpected pang at that, and the Titan shifter's eyes widened. What the hell was that about?  
He looked down and groaned, but this time it wasn't a groan of pleasure and more of discomfort. His woody was back again. He'd heard Berthold call it that one day, when the other guys were talking about Mikasa and Krista. He'd asked Armin about it later, not wanting to involve Mikasa in that particularly train of thought since she'd been the origin of the so-called 'woody' mentioned in the guys' rooms. Armin had told him what it was, and had added a few other synonyms that Eren had somehow all remembered. Hanji's question about his 'phallus' yesterday would have thrown him off if he hadn't, and he'd mentally thanked his best friend for his intelligence and bookishness, not for the first time.

Either way, when he'd come back to the men's deserted quarters the previous day, his 'woody' had been gone. Finally, after nearly an entire week of it bothering him non-stop, Eren had felt completely relaxed. His orgasm had been nearly painful in its intensity, and he supposed that was due to the amount of time he'd left it unattended. Mikasa had never mentioned anything about an orgasm being anywhere near painful. 'Blissful', 'incomparable', were some of the terms she'd used.

Eren recalled Levi asking him if he'd ever touched himself and looked down wonderingly. Touched himself? He extended a hand and poked his cock experimentally. It felt…weird. Not bad, but definitely nothing like the onsurge of electricity caused by Levi's hand. Wait. Levi hadn't just poked him and left it at that. He'd wrapped his hand around his member and moved it up and down. Was that what he'd meant by 'touch himself'? Eren tried it, and found it much harder to stifle his moan this time. His thighs twitched, and he had to lean forward against the cold sink to keep himself from falling over.

This was completely new to him. He didn't how to deal with it, and this entire business of 'touching himself' was like learning another language. Figuring he could ask Levi or Armin about it later, Eren unwrapped his hand, a little taken aback by the feeling of loss that that brought him. Eren took a deep breath and looked back at his face in the mirror. He was a little flushed, but otherwise he looked normal. He'd have to somehow hide that bite mark on his neck though. That would definitely bring questions; it didn't exactly look like a Titan wound.

Eren waddled over to the bundle of his clothes against a wall of the bathroom, grimacing at the pain that shot up his backside as he walked. That was definitely going to be a problem. It wouldn't do to pretend he was sick and stay in bed for the day; Mikasa would get worried and would most likely manage to prod the truth out of him. He'd have to get through this the best he could.

Eren cocked his head thoughtfully as he stared down at the clothes in his hands. Why was he so anxious to hide what had happened anyway? He didn't really understand the instinct, but he didn’t want anyone to find out about what had happened between him and Levi. It felt like a secret. He recalled Levi's injunction to be quiet yesterday, on the argument that he wouldn’t want people to find them in action and 'taunt' him with the knowledge. But no, he wasn't embarrassed by the entire thing. It just felt to him like it was nobody else's business but his and the Corporal's. That was it.

Eren left it at that, satisfied by the explanation, and finished putting on his clothes. Minutes later, he walked out of the boys' dorm, with an only slightly noticeable limp to his strides, and went to start his training while everybody else was still asleep.

* * *

"Hanji, one more word about yesterday and I'm going to ask Erwin to call all of your experiments to a standstill for a month. Is that clear?"

"Aww, but yesterday was so sweet! And the way you took him facing him – you know, I never thought you had it in you to be sweet like that."

Levi hadn't thought he did either – at least not until yesterday.

He'd honestly intended to take Eren rough and from behind. He really had. But for some reason he'd ended up looking him in the face as they came, and _marking_ him – now _that_ was the worst. He'd never marked anyone like that before. And more importantly, he'd never _been_ marked either. Marking a lover was a sign of property. What they'd done yesterday branded the other as exclusive, and Levi had never been exclusive with anyone. Ever. He really hadn't intended to start now. _Then why did you do it, you idiot? The brat marked you, but you marked HIM before – and anyway you never even tried to stop him, now DID you? Tch._

Levi huffed, silently berating himself for his actions. _It's too late now anyway. And you do realize that the brat probably doesn't even realize what it means that you marked him either way?_ Damn it. That was true. As far as he knew, the bite had probably already sealed over thanks to the kid's regeneration abilities, which meant that he was the only one left marked. Absently, Levi rubbed at his neck with the flat of a hand. He'd been very careful to hide that from his comrades, and more particularly from Hanji. Good think his white collar was so concealing in the first place, otherwise he'd have had a hard time hiding that particular remnant of the previous day. The gouges on his back that Eren's nails had carved were easy enough to hide under his shirt, but that bite was something else. Levi bit his bottom lip and suppressed a shiver of pleasure at the memory. He wasn't supposed to react like this, damn it! That was Eren's job!

Levi turned to Hanji, interrupting both of their strides down the corridor.

"You could have told me he was a virgin."

Hanji grinned, her eyes sparkling behind her shining glasses. "I thought I'd leave it as a surprise for you." She nodded as though to herself. "I knew you'd like it."

Levi growled. "I never said I liked it."

"No, but it's written all over your face, Corporal," Hanji teased him.

He turned away from her, still scowling, and resumed his walk.

"You know, you should have seen him this morning." Hanji shook her head, amused at whatever she was about to say. "He was limping like a wounded dog. Couldn’t hold his ground against Kirstein during training – well, less than usual anyway. He was up at all hours of the morning, earlier than me even." Hanji sped up, cocking her head past Levi's shoulder to croon at him, "And his hard-on is back."

Levi ignored her. Damn it. He'd thought he'd be fine for at least another few days, but apparently he wasn't.

"When?" he growled at the brunette beside him.

Hanji looked surprised. "When what?"

"When do you want me to meet with him again?"

The woman's eyebrows rose as she looked at him, but Levi kept his eyes straight ahead. "Oh, but I don't. I gave him free rein to do whatever and whomever he wanted once he'd passed the first test with you yesterday. It's not against the rules to engage in intercourse with his comrades, but I wanted his first time while in heat to be with someone who had the ability and capability to restrain him should he turn into a Titan. He didn't, so now he's free to do whatever he wants." She looked at him, a slow smile curving her lips. "Why? Did you think he would be all yours, Levi? Do you _want_ him to be all yours, perhaps?" She straightened, and there was still no answer from the other man. "Oh, you should have told me. I would have said something to him. I-"

Then Levi whirled around, suddenly angry for a reason completely different to what she thought. "That's not the issue here, Hanji! He's a Titan shifter, for God's sake, a Titan shifter! He's the best hope humanity has, however volatile, and you've just decided to throw him at an entire campus of starved teenagers as a sex toy! He doesn't _know_ anything about sex, Hanji – what if someone abuses him or tries to make him do things he doesn’t want to do? He's going to say no, but with the state he's in, he'll never be able to resist anyone! If this continues, he'll be raped or killed, and then he won't be of much use to humanity, now will he?! This isn't about what _I_ want, Hanji, it's about what _he_ wants and doesn’t want, and more particularly about the fact that _he doesn't know anything about this_!" Levi threw his hands up in exasperation. "I can't believe you didn't think before sending him off on our grounds to find someone to fuck him. Hanji, he was a _virgin_ until yesterday. What exactly were you expecting? What _are_ you expecting? You think I didn't notice Erwin in the trees yesterday while I was with Eren? You and I both know him – he'll try to claim him. He will. You know that. _I_ know that. Do you really think Eren will be able to resist him if Erwin really wants him? Do you?"

Hanji stopped breathing. She'd never seen Levi this angry before. Never. Had she really been so wrong to send the brat out with only himself as protection? _Why, yes you were, Hanji. Well done girl. Bravo to you!_ She shook her head to herself.

She looked up. Her eyes met Levi's, and not a second later her fist banged against her chest in a perfect salute, her back arched up and her chin held high. "Excuse my stupidity, Corporal Levi. I forgot to think before sending the Cadet Jaeger off on his own, and I will, if you feel that one is needed, accept whatever punishment you see fit for me. In the meantime, I shall help you look for the Cadet Jaeger, or do whatever else you wish of me." And she meant every word she said.

* * *

_Damn it. I'm so tired._

Eren yawned. Training had gone so badly today that it was nearly comical. Jean and the others had been giving him weird looks for the best of the week because his woody never allowed him to walk properly, but with his limp today it had been ever worse. He didn't really feel like laughing though. It was damn painful, and also seriously irritating that Jean had thrown him down nearly single-handedly about thirty times during hand-to-hand combat training that day alone. He'd never wanted so badly before to just hide in a hole and never come back; not even that first initiation day when his broken equipment had kept stopping him from staying upright in the 3D Manoeuver Gear straps for more than a few seconds.

Eren dragged a wary hand down his face and leaned back against the trunk of the tree he was sitting at the foot of. He just needed a nap. Just a nap. Just a few hours. It was only two o'clock; he'd wake up before dinner and then go to bed with everyone else. He closed his eyes, his head tilted upwards. He was asleep in seconds.

He'd been asleep for perhaps twenty minutes when he was startled awake by a falling leaf stroking his cheek. Eren wiped the green leaf off his face, swearing about how military training had made him way too aware of his surroundings for him to be able to even sleep outside peacefully anymore. There were way too many stray noises and leaves here for him _not_ to wake up.

He tilted his head back against the tree. His eyes bore up into the tree's lush green foliage. And that's when he saw him.

Erwin Smith, looking straight down at him from his perch on a thick branch. One hand on the trunk for balance, the other hanging against his knees, crouching to look down at the younger boy, his blond hair shining in the sun filtered by the foliage of the tree. Eren's heart skipped a beat. Erwin Smith looked like a predator about to pounce. He had only to lick his lips as he looked at him now, and the picture in Eren's mind would be complete.

"Hello, Cadet Jaeger," the older man said softly, still looking down at him from his perch. "Enjoying the sun, are we?"

Eren nodded. "While it's still there, Sir," he answered, straining to keep his voice as steady as possible despite the way his heart was hammering against his ribs.

The Commander's eyes roamed over him, but still he didn't move. "You look tired, Eren," he said, and his voice sounded deeper for some reason. Eren's breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up? I'm certain you have your reasons for being so tired at this time of the day."

Eren said nothing. He was sure that the Commander was well aware that he'd woken him up. He shouldn't have had to ask, but he was taunting the younger man. Why? Eren couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. There was something different in Erwin's eyes, darker and more dangerous than usual. The casual way in which he was slouched over, his head cocked to the side and surveying Eren's body, made him want to twitch and cover himself. His cock, of course, was at attention, and he thanked the fact the he had fallen asleep with his knees pulled against his chest. He wasn't sure why, but he certainly didn't want the older man to see his erection poking through his pants.

"Did you want anything in particular, Sir?"

Erwin looked at him. For a moment there was complete silence, each of them battling the other's gaze until finally Erwin's eyes flicked down to stare all too pointedly at where his crotch would have been visible had his knees not been pulled up to hide it. The blonde's eyes gleamed, and Eren forgot how to breathe. _Shit._

"Definitely some other day, Eren," Erwin said then, surprising him, and then he was gone, hopping through the closely clustered trees, perfectly unnoticed.

Waking him up had certainly not been an accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D


	4. A Price Willingly Paid

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mikasa and Armin worry about Eren, and Levi seems more irritable than usual.
> 
> Oh, and the Titans are attacking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D

Chapter 4: A Price Willingly Paid

* * *

 

"Armin, have you see Eren since training?" said Mikasa as they settled at their table for dinner.

"No, but he told me he was going for a nap outside. He'll be back soon enough anyway; I can't see him missing dinner, especially since he missed yesterday's already." Armin shrugged and looked up at his black-haired friend. "By the way, did you ever get to ask him what had happened yesterday?"

Mikasa shook her head and picked up her fork. "No. I never got to talk to him today; he was too busy getting beaten up by Jean this afternoon during training for me to approach him."

Armin nodded absently at that, and started to stuff food into his mouth as he spoke. "Shame here," he said, spitting food onto the table. Mikasa made a face, but he didn't seem to notice. "I 'ever got shoo ashk 'im any'ing. I'ch like 'ee wash avoi'ing me or shome'ing."

Mikasa glared at him. "Armin, don't speak with your mouth full. It's disgusting."

The blonde boy paused and swallowed his mouthful. He smiled sheepishly up at her. "Sorry."

"Cadet Arlert, were you speaking with your mouth full?"

Armin froze. His fork clattered onto his plate, and it resounded loudly in the suddenly silent canteen. Everybody was staring at the two figures behind the blond. Armin shot to a standing position from his bench and whirled around, standing ram rod straight in front of the Corporal and the Major Hanji.

"Hai, Sir! I'm sorry, Sir! Do you want me to clean up, Sir!"

Levi looked at him. "Was that a question, Cadet Arlert?"

The trainee gulped and flicked a nervous glance down at Jean, sitting at a table behind Hanji and Levi. "Yes, Sir!"

Levi leant into his face. "Then make it sound like one." 

"Ah- Yes, Sir! I'm sorry, Sir!"

Hanji popped her head over the Corporal's shoulder, which wasn't very hard to do considering that she was a good 4 inches taller than him. "Relax, Armin. We're just looking for Eren."

Behind Armin, Mikasa stood, the bench rattling against the floor noisily. "Eren?"

"Do you have something to say, Cadet Ackerman?"

"Sir, he told us he was going outside for a nap. This was hours ago, around two o'clock after training this afternoon. We expected him to be back before dinner. In fact, I was just telling myself that I was going to go out and look for him if he didn't join us by the end of the hour. I-"

"Cadet Ackerman, you are talking to your direct superior," Levi snapped. He stalked around Armin and the end of the table, coming to a stop directly before Mikasa who had turned to face him as he neared her. He leant into her face, and to her credit, Mikasa didn't flinch away. "Do you have something to say?" he said again, his eyes flashing dangerously.

The black-haired girl's eyes widened as she stared into Levi's gleaming eyes just below hers. The smaller man somehow managed to look intimidating even when his nose only just reached her chin. Then she raised her head, clapped her heels together and drew her fists to her back and chest, her eyes focused on some point on the faraway wall just above the Corporal's head as she spoke loud and clear.

"Corporal Levi, I ask for your permission to help look for my comrade, the Cadet Jaeger. If you will allow it, I will begin searching immediately. Sir."

The room held its breath. Slowly, Levi straightened, a new approval in his eyes as he kept his gaze on Mikasa's straight face. He turned on his heels, and as he stomped across the room, every pair of eyes followed him – all but Sasha Blouse's, who was eating away as per usual. It was possible that she hadn't even noticed the commotion. Scanning the room, the Corporal's eyes fell on her and stayed there. Beside her, a nervous Connie Springer elbowed her in the ribs. It took him a few tries, but finally she looked up, swallowing a mouthful of mash with a near-comical bob of her head as she lifted her eyes in what looked like a painful and surprised effort of will. She saw Levi looking straight at her from across the room, and she swallowed again, though there was nothing left but spit in her mouth to swallow. She stared back at him stupidly.

"Sasha," Connie hissed at her, keeping his eyes desperately glued to his plate. "Don't just stare at him!" he whispered furiously.

The brunette turned to him. "What?"

"Cadets Blouse and Springer!" Levi snapped suddenly. "Up here, now!"

Sasha's eyes bulged at that, and Connie groaned, banging his forehead against his table and only narrowly avoiding his plate. Jean snickered nearer to Armin and Mikasa's table, and Levi swivelled around to stare at him. "Cadet Kirstein! What do you think you're laughing at? Get up and join your two comrades why don't you? Arlert and Ackerman, you will be leading the search party for Eren Jaeger. The party consists of Cadets Kirstein, Blouse and Springer, and yourselves. Cadet Ackerman, are you satisfied?"

He didn't want for the girl's answer, ignoring Jean's loud groan of protest, and instead turned to face the rest of the Cadets, who were staring at the unfolding scene with growing interest. Quite a few of them were moaning about how Jaeger managed to create trouble for them even when he wasn't there. "Recon Corps! I have important news! There has been a break in! The Titans are getting closer to our quarters here by the second! They are a relatively large horde, thirty to fifty according to our scouts, and it is possible that the Cadet Jaeger is in danger. Dinner is over immediately. My next orders take effect immediately. All of you, save for the designated search party, are to go and put on your 3D Manoeuver Gears. Among yourselves, you will decide who is to go where. I trust your judgement with this mission. Do _not_ disappoint me. If our compound's limits were to be violated, we would be forced into a hasty retreat beyond Wall Rose. Eren Jaeger would have to be handed over to the Military Police for custody. That is _unacceptable._ Do I make myself clear? The success of this mission relies on all of our shoulders. The Major Hanji will stay here to supervise your efforts and guide you in the right direction, but essentially this will be a test to both your fighting skills and your strategic skills." The Corporal's eyes focused on Armin, now standing in front of him with the other four. "I trust that the loss of Cadet Arlert for this particular mission will force you to find a worthy replacement. _Am I clear?"  
_

"Hai, Sir!" the room erupted, and in a one movement everyone stood up and filed out of the canteen, shouting out for each other and issuing orders to whomever was willing to listen to them. Levi sighed, and waved Hanji away toward them. Hopefully she'd be able to reason them all before they managed too much damage.

There was a commotion around the door, and the Cadets rushing out the door wavered before parting, letting someone through their tightly packed ranks before closing after the entering figure. The six of them turned to the door, and Levi stepped toward the newly-arrived a soldier, his clothes torn and his face slashed in various places, blood oozing from the shallow but numerous cuts. The wounded soldier collapsed right into the Corporal's arms, panting wildly and obviously unable to stay upright.

"Scout Kruger reporting from duty, Sir," the soldier gasped, not leaving any of them enough time to say a word. "We've sighted Jaeger, but Lorst and Giuliani fell on the way back! They have met their fates as soldiers and have – have fulfilled their duty-"

"Scout Kruger!" Levi snapped, hauling the boy against his chest, mindless of the blood seeping into his own clothes from the other boy. "Do not exhaust yourself. Can you tell me where Eren Jaeger was last seen?"

The Scout nodded eagerly, and gasped out, "Just outside the second arc, Sir. As a Titan. The other Titans – they're chasing him outwards. Myself and the others – we reasoned that Jaeger was trying to lead them away from the fort."

Levi swore and closed his eyes briefly before looking down at the bloody boy before him. He glanced up and around. "Cadet Kirstein, accompany Scout Kruger here to the infirmary. Please ask Cadet Lenz to come with you and to remain in the infirmary to help Ymir there. She's going to need all the help she can get soon enough."

"Yes Sir!"

Jean stepped forward, took the Scout's arms from Levi's grip, and slipped his shoulder under the shorter boy's armpit, hauling him up and leading him out of the now cleared doorway. They watched him go, and Levi turned to the rest of them.

"What's the second arc?" Sasha blurted out suddenly. She blushed when she realized that she'd just spoken without her superior's consent, and Connie glared at her and elbowed her in the ribs again.

Levi narrowed his eyes at her. "Do you have something to say, Cadet Blouse?"

Her eyes widened. She didn't speak. Beside her, Armin raised a hand, an out of place reminder of his days as a Cadet in the City. Levi nodded for him to speak, amused by his scholarly politeness.

"Corporal Levi, what is the second arc?"

"Follow me," the older man said, and went for the door. "I'll explain as we walk. This property, as you already know, was once the main stronghold of the first Recon Corps. However, the Corps were forced to move into the city in order to better protect their growing membership at the time. The Titans' territory was growing steadily at the time, and it was feared that they would eventually be trapped here if they did not move on. One of the defence mechanisms of the place is the five scouting arcs surrounding it. All of the Scouts and Lookouts are trained to recognise the signs of each arc – notches in the trees, craters – things that might look natural to anybody other than the Scouts. The first arc is set a mile out of the castle, the second a mile out from the first, and so on, until the fifth, which is set two miles out from the fourth. This is the area watched and monitored by the Scouts. It is thanks to them, and them only, that we are aware of the Titans' attack on the perimeter. If not for the Scouts and the arcs, we would only have known that we were being attacked once the Titans had reached us. By then, it would have been too late." 

He paused, and the silence was only broken now and then by the sounds of people shouting, running, and by the familiar zip of 3D Manoeuver Gears kicking into action all around them. "Mikasa, Armin, Connie, Sasha," he said softly, and his use of their first names surprised them all. "I am entrusting you with the future of humanity. Without Eren's powers…" The Corporal sighed, appearing suddenly tired and somehow older, his head downcast and his eyes closed as he walked. "Without Eren, it is possible that humanity's last hope will have faded with him." He turned to them suddenly, his eyes newly hard and determined as he looked at them one by one before settling his gaze on Mikasa. "Do you understand? I am entrusting you with our lives. All of our lives – not just Eren Jaeger's. Can I trust you? Can I trust you to cooperate with one another? To work towards this one goal of saving the Titan shifter? I did not just pick you because you had misbehaved," and he looked at Sasha as he said this. "I picked you because all five of you – Jean, too – are part of humanity's strongest soldiers. I picked you because you are close to Jaeger, and because you have more reason than anyone else to want to save him – perhaps at the risk of your own lives. That is the necessity. I will follow you, and clear the path where I can. I, too, will be willing to put my life on the line to save Eren Jaeger. Just as Eren, in his Titan form, is risking his _own_ life, against my direct orders, to lead the most of the Titans away from us. Can I trust you to do the same? Can I trust that you will – that you are willing to pay the same price as Petra, Gunther, Eld, Oluo, in order to protect Eren Jaeger? Cadets of the Recon Corps, answer me! _Can I trust you?!"_

_"Hai!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D


	5. In The Darkest Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Mikasa finally gets to save Eren, Levi has a moment of weakness, and Erwin intervenes.
> 
> Oh, and lots of Titans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D

Chapter 5: In The Darkest Places

* * *

"The second arc, the second arc," Jean muttered, pulling the trigger to his Gear. The thread shot out to his left, burying itself into a tree, and Jean was pulled to the left as he pulled out a blade and slashed right across the neck of the Titan blocking his path. The creature tumbled, freeing the path, and to his right he saw Armin edging forward with his own gear, a determined look on his face. "Damn it," Jean gritted out again, gear kicking into action and pulling him back towards the middle of the path. "Armin!" he called finally at the boy to his right. "We passed the second arc ages ago! We should be seeing Jaeger by now!"

"Shut up Jean!" Armin snapped, surprising him. "Just keep going! He could be anywhere along the length of the arc! Just keep to your side and I'll keep to mine, and between the six of us we'll find- There!" Armin shot off to the left suddenly, cutting across Jean's path as quickly as Jean had ever seen the blond use the Manoeuver Gear. Jean stalled, swore, and managed to right himself just before crashing into the other boy. He looked off to where Armin was now headed, and in the distance saw a column of bright white smoke rising and slowly fading in the wind against the night sky – the sign that one of their team had found Eren. 

He swore again and veered off-course to follow Armin, who was by now well ahead of him. He'd missed the detonation somehow, probably because he'd had Armin talking his ear off when it went, he thought bitterly. He caught up with the other boy quickly enough, pulling ahead but not too far, in case the blond encountered a Titan and needed his help to finish it off. Now that Eren had been sighted, they weren't supposed to get delayed – for example by fighting Titans – but Jean figured that they weren't necessarily going to get a choice. With their luck, if a Titan was to attack them before they'd reached the others, it would be an Abnormal, and they'd have no other choice but to take it down lest it follow them all the way to Eren. 

But for once, they were lucky.

Or at least, right up until they'd reached the Titan shifter. From there, everything went downhill.

When they reached him, the first thing they saw was that there were other Titans crowded around him, backing him up against a massive tree with a trunk twenty times Jean's width and fifty times his height. At first neither him nor Armin actually realized that Eren was there. All they saw was a group of Titans clustered around a tree. Then suddenly, just as they were about to keep moving, they heard two simultaneous things.

One, the roar of a Titan that could only be Eren, a roar that told of unbearable pain if he wasn't already dying.

And two, Mikasa's echoing scream, coming straight from among the clustered Titans. 

The Titans staggered back in a close circle near the center of their group, like a ripple of surprise originating from a fixed point. Several of the staggering Titans fell back and into others around them, dragging them to the ground and creating a domino effect made even more impressive to watch by the sheer size of the falling bodies. As both Jean and Armin stopped their course and settled on a nearby tree, not understanding what was happening, a ridge was cut in the Titans, heading straight for the place where Eren was very obviously cornered.

Then Armin understood. "It's Mikasa!" he shouted at Jean, readying his Gear. "She's down there with Eren! We've got to help her!" 

But Jean grabbed his arm and turned him around to look at him. "Are you stupid? I _know_ it's Mikasa, and that's why I'm just sitting here idle and letting her do whatever it is she's trying to do! She stronger than both of us put together, you idiot! What were you gonna do, besides jump in there and get yourself killed for nothing??" 

Armin held back, his head swivelling back to look at Mikasa's tiny moving figure amongst the collapsing Titans. She was cutting off their Achilles tendons so that they couldn't stay standing, expertly dodging both still-moving feet and gigantic flailing and falling bodies as she ran, her blades out and trailing behind her in both hands. He was conflicted, was still considering going down there to do something – anything – but Jean's strong grip on his arm intensified.

"Stay here Armin," he said, his voice softer now that he'd managed to get the blonde boy's attention. "I wasn't there for the Corporal's little inspirational speech earlier, but you told me enough of it that even _I_ know what we're supposed to do now. Trust her, Armin. You're her best friend; you more than anyone should know what that girl is capable of. We'd only get ourselves killed, and knowing her she'd probably feel like it was her fault for the rest of her life after that. Right?" Jean shook Armin's arm a little, and those blue eyes settled on him. "Stay here. Watch her. _Trust_ _her_ , Armin. She can do it." He stopped; nodded towards Mikasa. "Look."

And the Titans were falling. One after the other, in an inevitable, rippling, unstoppable wave of pain, and soon there were none left standing, and the Titan shifter Eren Jaeger was left in full view of them.

Jean swore, stepped forward and off the tree, shooting his Gear into the tree that the Titan had been crowded against.

Left behind, Armin was slower to react. He stared and swayed, only avoiding a fall to his death by crouching on the branch. He couldn't move, couldn’t react, couldn't even make a sound as he watched his childhood best friend's mutilated body.

The Titan shifter's arms had been bitten off, left down to stumps that just about protruded from his body like an unfinished doll's cut shoulders. The muscles in his thighs had been ripped out and left hanging, leaving him to sit against the tree as they buried their hands into his stomach and cleaved out his intestines. His bottom half was covered in guts, in blood, in other unidentifiable things that made Armin want to vomit in horror and pain for Eren. The Titan's head had drooped, and Armin felt instantly, straight into his soul, that something was wrong. Horribly wrong. 

Well, besides the fact that his best friend was sitting there with his guts hanging out and half his face smashed in beyond recognition.

Now perched on Eren's shoulder, Jean watched as Mikasa, having cut the skin of the Titan open just above where she knew Eren's head to be, grabbed her cousin by the shoulders and desperately tried to pull him out of the stinking flesh. It hit Jean then that there was something missing from this perfect picture. Something that should have been there, that he was used to seeing when it came to Titans, but that for some reason _wasn't here._ He stalled. Froze for a few seconds as the gears in his mind worked. And then he saw it. 

Eren gave off none of the regenerating vapours that the other Titans were.

"He's not regenerating," he whispered, shell-shocked. He looked up at Mikasa, said, louder, "Mikasa – _he's not regenerating!_ "

The black-haired girl didn't answer, only groaned and pulled harder on her cousin. She panted, once, and looked up wildly at him. "He's stuck! I can't get him out! Jean – his arms, his legs! They've fused with the Titan! Jean – I can't – get him – _out_!"

There was a sudden shout behind them, and the zip of 3D Manoeuver Gear, and Armin screamed again, and this time his words were perfectly clear to both of them.

"Abnormals!"

 _Oh shit_ was all Jean had time to think. Jean looked at Mikasa's desperate face, at Armin who was launching himself straight at the incoming Titans in a desperate effort to slow them before they reached Eren's carcass, and resolved that the world was a desperate place one way or the other and that he might as well give being desperate a try. He jumped.

* * *

As soon as Levi heard and saw the white fuse go off, he knew that problems were coming. The fuse had gone off from just beyond the fourth arc. That meant more Titans. And that was nowhere near an optimistic resolution.

Levi bolted. Jumped from the ground, shot his gear out, and headed straight for the mid-fourth arc. Luckily, he wasn't too far from the fourth arc – only just past the third arc, but at the far end of it, near the cliff that rose steeply behind the castle. It took him just under a minute to travel the mile that separated him from the arc, but even then it felt too long, and what he saw when he arrived only made him confirm that.

Three Cadets of the search party – Ackerman, Arlert and Kirstein. About twenty Titans collapsed and smoking on the ground in front of Eren's carcass. And a horde of incoming Abnormals.

Not good. 

Levi embraced the situation with a glance. Ackerman, trying to peal Eren away from the half-eaten carcass of his Titan, and failing; the smoking Titans on the ground at their feet, slowly regenerating from their cut Achilles tendons, which Levi had no doubt had been slashed by Mikasa; and Kirstein and Arlert, keeping a group of five Abnormals away from Mikasa, Eren and the rest of the Titans. However long it had been since she'd cut their tendons, Levi knew by their state of healing that they all had about thirty seconds before the Titans rose and started wreaking havoc. Some of the ones closer to Eren's Titan were clawing forward with just their hands already in an attempt to get closer to him. 

He shot forward, and a heartbeat later was running along what was left of Eren's shoulder and collarbone. He shouted Mikasa's name, and she looked up, still pulling at her brother's body. Levi could see that the boy was stuck, had begun fusing with his Titan just as he'd started fusing with Annie Leonhardt's Titan a week earlier; he could also see that, contrary to the rest of the fallen Titans, Eren Jaeger was not regenerating. For now, he blamed it on the colossal extent of the damage that his Titan body had endured, but Levi knew better. If she didn't show up now to see it for herself, he'd have to ask Hanji about this later.

"Get out of the way, Mikasa!" he barked at the black-haired girl. She jumped aside, and Levi knelt to take a look at Eren. There were tendrils, growing straight out from the Titan's flesh, coiling around the places that had been damaged on the Titan – his arms, his thighs, the half of his face that was visible, the rest turned downward and bearing right down into the Titan's flesh, and around his waist and stomach. Eren Jaeger had been ensnared by his own Titan's body, and though now the sinuous tentacles of sanguinary flesh were unmoving, so then was the boy trapped within them.

There was no getting him out of there alive.

Or at least not in one piece.

Levi sighed. It couldn't be avoided. He closed his eyes, remembering the plan that he himself had devised and shared with Eren on the younger boy's first week in the Recon Corps. He had to do it. It was the only way. If he could only just cut his arms off, then he could haul him out and drag his legs, face and torso out forcefully. With a bit of luck, his arms would be the only things Eren lost in this fight.

Except that now he wasn't regenerating.

Levi's eyes snapped open. He stood, poised his feet on either side of Eren's body, and lifted his two blades to cross above his head. There was no time to think. If they couldn't get Eren out of there, he would die. If they got him out, no matter the cost, there was a chance, no matter how small, that he would survive. He had to try. 

His arms tensed, and he prepared to strike down and seal Eren Jaeger's quickly shortening future.

His arms refused to move.

Levi gritted his teeth. Beside him, Ackerman held her breath.

But he couldn't do it. He couldn't.

He panted shortly, just once, as frustration and guilt and exasperation at his inability to act flooded him. A startled, humourless snort of laughter escaped him, cruel and unforgiving. He couldn't do it, but at the same time he knew he'd never forgive himself for not being able to do it.

But he could _not_. Do it.

No matter how hard he tried to move then, he knew that he had failed.

He knew that he had the right to do it. He owned the boy, just like he owned every one of the Cadets, simply because he was their competent hierarchical superior. He knew without a doubt that, had Eren had a choice, he would have asked his Corporal to just do it, cut his arms off and to hell with the consequences, because he wouldn't have wanted to stay there, trapped within that rotting, stinking flesh, for the Titans to come along and eat him bit by bit – like livestock, he would have said.

But even knowing this, he could not do it. All he could think about was the way those strong hands had carved bloody gouges into his back just the day before, how the boy still had so many things to enjoy in life, and how all this would be ruined if his arms were cut off by his superior and never regenerated.

If this was it, if this was what guilt felt like, then he never wanted it again. Petra's death had already shaken a nerve in him, but this was different, because there wouldn't be anyone else to blame. He would be the one carrying the blades this time. And no matter how many times he'd prided himself on his absence of emotions, he couldn't bear the guilt alone.

His blades fell.

He breathed in. Once, twice. Staring at the broken boy laying face down in blood-red flesh. Breathed out.

And wasn't surprised when a new, deep, rumbling said in his ear, "Step aside, Levi."

And he did.

The 13th Commander of the Recon Corps stepped forward, brought his blades up above his head, and in one swift and powerful movement, brought the blades down – into the Titan's flesh.

Levi sucked in a breath.

What?

Erwin Smith hadn't cut the boy's arms off. He'd severed the Titan's head – effectively disconnecting his nerve endings. 

That wasn't a move that normally worked on Titans; usually they'd just grow another one in a few minutes and in the meantime run around like headless chickens, making them just as dangerous as Abnormals. But Eren wasn't regenerating. And of course the Commander had seen this straight away, and used the dysfunction to his advantage, had seen what Levi, in his hurry, had failed to think of. 

And now, with nerves severed, the flesh that had previously kept Eren's body ensnared had loosened. Erwin Smith took another step forward, sheathing his blades before grabbing the younger boy by the armpits and hauling him up and back against his chest. He turned, and even as Mikasa hurried forward to take her brother's weight onto herself, he shook his head and looked at Levi. The two men looked at each other. Erwin wanted him to pay the price of his incompetence. He wanted him to both see his failure of not having thought about it himself, and to imagine what would have happened if he'd cut his arms off. His hesitation had given Eren back his arms, but it had also cost him his reputation and distinction in the eyes of the Commander.

Levi took Eren's burden onto himself, turned, and launched himself into the air while behind him, Erwin shot up the yellow fuse that told the search party that the Titan shifter had been recovered. The night was far from over, but at least Eren Jaeger had been found and saved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my work, please like my fan page KuraraOkumura's Disciples on facebook! :D


	6. Up and Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Titans are acting weird, Levi has a plan, and Armin doesn't agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guyz! So, it's my seventeenth birthday today, 26th June 2014. How about your reviews are my birthday present from ye, kay? ;D
> 
> Also, you can now go like my facebook page KuraraOkumura's Disciples, which I created a few days ago and on which I will be posting updates relating to my fanfics for the benefit of the fans. You can also talk to me there and everything, so... Go for it. :3

Chapter 6: Up and Away

* * *

When Connie and Sasha heard the fuse go off, and turned to see the yellow smoke originating from the point they had been headed to before getting ambushed by Titans, Sasha's first instinct was to exclaim that the mission was over and that they could go home. The Titan taking a swipe at her quickly proved her wrong.

Eren might have been safe, but the Titans were still there. They had to be fought back.

All around the battlefield that had become the surroundings of the Recon Corps HQ, the Titans were inexorably advancing. There weren't enough of the Corps to push all of them back. There were too many of them, too many Abnormals, and nobody had been prepared for them. Little by little, the Titans gained on the Recon Corps' territory. Soon they were past the third arc altogether. An hour after Eren had been rushed inside the HQ by Levi and Mikasa, they were past the second arc, and approaching the first. By that time, a third of the Recon Corps' manpower had been wiped out.

There didn't seem to be anything that could be done. The Cadets and the Seniors alike grew more desperate by the minute. The Cadets had organized their attacks perfectly, hardly needing any help at all from the more experienced Hanji. The Seniors fought with just as much determination as the younger members at first, but soon, that determination, for all of them, turned into frantic despondency. Forced into their trenches, the Recon Corps could see no way out of the trap that the Titans, with their huge and frightening number of Abnormals, had pushed them into. It wasn't long, after the second arc had been breached, before the first arc became the last defence line.

Levi and Mikasa had never come back out of the HQ, and though Erwin Smith fought alongside them, the rest of the Corps was feeling their absence, and paying it deeply. Mikasa and Levi were worth a whole legion on their own. But nobody knew why they hadn't come out, and they knew better than to question the Commander.

With the first arc violated, the Corps were wilder in their fighting. Less coordinated, more desperate. It was a grim spectacle for any onlooker; a feast of screams and blood and disorganised roars, promising revenge but only receiving pain. For every Titan that fell and didn't get up again, three soldiers were eaten or crushed. For every meter of territory gained back on the huge creatures, five were retaken. From up high, it was obvious that the Corps were losing. There were groups of soldiers trapped in the forest, cut off from the main body of their comrades' units and unable to either escape or call for help. On the east front, the Titans were close to the castle's walls, and still advancing. On the west front, a break had been managed through the Titan lines along the cliff bordering the HQ, like a peninsula jutting out to sea. The north front, facing outward and into the forest, was relatively well guarded. The mountains protected the south front.

Just as the Corps were beginning to see that defeat was inevitable, strange reports began to filter through the west and east fronts. These reports said that the Titans were trying to climb the steep cliff of the south front; rather than attacking the HQ, Titans that had broken through the western front had thrown themselves at the rocky vertical walls and attempted to dig their fingers into it to climb, making it easier for soldiers to slash through the backs of their necks and kill them. The Titans were climbing the wall barehanded, heading for the mountains, leaving the Recon Corps HQ behind them without a backward glance.

When Jean heard the news, he was stationed at the eastern front, and had already witnessed that same thing twice, much farther from the HQ than the western front's Titans. He and Armin had left the others behind, preferring to go on ahead and try and clear a passage for what they both knew was a suicide mission. The Commander had been planning a hasty retreat into the mountains in case the Titans broke through all three fronts and compromised the HQ, but now, with the creatures apparently heading precisely where they had planned on taking refuge, the mission, which Jean and Armin had volunteered for, along with Hanji Zoe, two other Cadets and a Senior, seemed useless.

The two Cadets had been sent back with the news each time they had witnessed a Titan climbing the wall before killing it, and now it was only Jean, Armin, Hanji and Berner, an elder squad member. They had just stopped moving to wait for the Cadets to return, when three Titans – Abnormals – bolted out of the trees and ran straight into the wall. One of them, limbs moving at an unnatural, near-animalistic speed, was already halfway up the wall when Jean slashed across his neck with the 3D Manoeuver Gear. They had stocked up on gas just before leaving for the clearance mission, so none of them were worried about that. The other two Abnormals were having more difficulties digging their fingers and toes into the rock for purchase, and were moving more slowly. Hanji killed the second one easily, but when Berner took a swipe at the last one, the creature jumped back. Right into the empty air. Berner trapped beneath it, it rushed to the ground, heading right for the soldier's inevitable death – crushed under a Titan.

Armin shouted in alarm, making for his Gear. Jean had just enough time to think that he would never have the time to save him was when a flash of brightness and a familiar hissing noise caught his attention. He looked up from the falling Titan, but there was nothing there – the figure was already gone, a flash of dark clothes and clear blades catching the light of the full moon, heading right for the Titan. Beside him, Hanji knew instantly who it was.

"Levi!"

Jean nearly hit himself. Of course! Nobody else could move that fast – not even Mikasa.

The Corporal's figure disappeared under the Titan's still falling body for all of two milliseconds. He re-emerged on the other side with Berner under his arm and a blade extended to his left. A second later, the Titan disintegrated.

Levi swung himself up between them on their branch, landing gracefully and kneeling instantly to inspect Berner's body and gear as he lay him out on his back. The man was unconscious; probably knocked out cold when the Titan had jumped backwards from the wall of the cliff. His arm was bent at an odd angle, and when Levi cocked his head and bent forward to examine the injury, Armin suddenly froze. Jean gave him an odd look, but Jean didn't seem to notice; instead, the blond was staring at the back of the Corporal's neck as though the man had just grown a second head.

Levi seemed to think the same thing, and he rounded on Armin gaping self without a second thought. "Cadet Arlert, is there any particular reason for your idiotic staring? Would you like me to strip and start a dance? Perhaps the sight of your comrade in distress is not quite challenging enough for you?"

Armin looked taken aback, and Jean was startled to see real surprise there, even a little pain. True enough, their Corporal knew that Armin had never been the type to qualify anything, and much less a dying or injured comrade, of 'not challenging enough'. It was natural for Armin to feel insulted at the glaringly false accusation, but it seemed just as natural to Jean that Levi might be pissed that the strategist be standing there staring at him when there were clearly better things to be done. Armin seemed more insulted with that than he did by the Corporal's suggestion that he give him a lap dance.

"Of course not, Sir!" the blonde protested energetically.

"Then what are you doing still standing there?" snapped Levi, apparently more irritable than usual. Which, given the circumstances, wasn't so surprising.

"Levi," Hanji interrupted, and the dark-haired man turned back to where she squatted on Berner's other side, tending to his broken arm. "Where's Eren?"

There was a moment of silence, then Levi said, "In the mountains. Safe."

Jean and Armin gasped. The Major didn't seem surprised by the news and simply nodded, her eyes still strained down on the makeshift sling she was making. "And Ackerman?"

"With him."

"Good." Hanji was done with the sling, and as Levi took it from her hands to put it on the still-unconscious man between them, she stood abruptly. Her fists were tight by her side, her face drawn down so that neither Cadets could see her expression. Nonetheless, they had never seen her so grave. "Arlert, Kirstein," she said, and her voice was as clear as ever. "The Corporal and I have a new mission for you." She looked up, and Jean flinched. Her eyes were both hunter and hunted, and _she_ was downright scary. "I want you to return to the HQ. Gather up the rest of the search party's members – Blouse and Springer. I want the four of you to round up the Recon Corps, and tell the Commander Smith to take a small elite squadron with him, of about ten or so soldiers. He will have to lead them back, back behind the arcs, and round the Titans in towards the cliffs directly around the HQ. Keep them there. Preventing them from crossing over the cliff, and stop them from turning back into the woods.

"In the meantime, Blouse, Springer, Arlert, Kirstein, you will bring with you the rest of the Corps, the wounded and the well alike, and make them cross securely over the cliffs before the Commander completes his rounds and blocks access over the cliff. Then you will send Ackerman back here, and only her. Your pretty self and the Corps will remain in the safety of the mountains while myself, the Corporal Levi, the Commander Erwin Smith and his squadron, and Ackerman, finish off the Titans here. Am I understood?"

"But Major Hanji, the HQ-" Armin started, shock showing on his face.

"Will become a necessary sacrifice." Levi rose, rubbing a hand over his face. The two Cadets stared. The Corporal looked as though he had not slept nor eaten for days. "Cadet Arlert, I appreciate your concern. But the HQ of the original Recon Corps reached its limit decades ago. It should have been demolished then, but the project was aborted due to the loss of access to its land. It has lived its due." It might have been just their imagination, but the Corporal really did seem pained by the thought of the HQ's imminent demolition. Armin and Jean exchanged a confused look. "Kirstein, please go over the plan once again. I'm not concerned about Arlert remembering it, but you are another story altogether."

Jean flushed angrily, but held his tongue. "Go back to the HQ. Tell the Commander to choose an elite squadron to round up the Titans from their backs. Gather the rest of the Corps, bring them up the mountains, tell Mikasa to get back here ASAP. And we stay where we are," he bit out finally. He didn't like the idea of staying idle while others were out fighting for their lives.

"Succinct and to the point," Hanji murmured. "Just like you, Levi. You're a bad influence."

They expected Levi to snap something back at her. Instead, all he did was look down at Berner's sleeping face and murmur, "Oh, shut up, Zoe."

"Corporal, if I may, and with all due respect…" Armin started.

Levi nodded, still not looking at them. "Go ahead, Cadet. Talk."

"This is a suicide mission, Sir. You're going on a suicide mission."

"I am," was the older man's only answer.

Armin started. He took a step forward, anger plain on his face. "That's all you have to say? You're sending my best friend, our Commander, and all of our best men to fight a lost battle? Have you gone mad?!"

Jean grabbed his arm, attempting to hold back an Armin whom he'd never seen so angry. The blond's anger was understandable, but it surprised him nonetheless. "Armin," he said in what he hoped was a soothing manner, but grimaced when it came out more patronizing than anything else.

Armin whirled on him. "What, Jean? Are you going to tell me I'm wrong to be angry? Are you going to tell me I should just let him send Mikasa to her death?"

"'He' is going to be on the front lines too, you know." They both turned. Hanji was looking straight at them, a hard glint in her eyes behind her glasses. "You're accusing the Corporal Levi of sending our men into a suicide mission. Yet you seem to forget that the man you are accusing will also be a part of said suicide mission."

Levi turned to look at them, his expression just as hard as Hanji's. "Are you discussing orders, Arlert?"

"With all due respect – yes, Sir, I am!"

Something flashed in the Corporal's eyes. Neither Jean nor Armin could tell if it was anger or approval, but either way, they both recoiled from it. "Arlert, Kirstein, you will follow orders. You will do what I tell you to do, whether you like it or not. To be completely honest, I don't give a shit what you think. Go against my orders, disobey me, and you will be labelled deserters and traitors. Do I make myself clear?"

Armin gritted his teeth. His fists were tight, and it was obvious he wasn't going to be able to answer. Jean, for his part, really had no wish to loose his place in the Corps, especially when he'd worked hard enough to earn his spot in the Military Police and had instead chosen to join this godforsaken place. He saluted, banging a fist against his chest and the other against his back and clanking his heels together. "Hai, Sir! Perfectly clear! Armin, get some sense into that thick head of yours," he added in a furious whisper.

"Some sense?!" shouted the blond, turning on him, enraged. "He's sending my best friend to her death, and you're asking me-"

"Cadet Arlert!" Levi cut him off violently. "Watch what you say! You will respect your superiors!"

"Sir-"

"What is it, Cadet Arlert?!" Levi spat out bitterly. "Would you rather take my place? Would you be the one to be in my position, where no matter the decision I take, the only thing that will change is the number of dead on my conscience?! Do you have a better plan?! Because if you do I think it would be time for you to tell us all!" Levi paused, breathing heavily. Giving time for any of them to speak if they had something to say. The silence stretched. Then- "Armin. What I am doing here is devising a plan that will spare the most lives that can possibly be spared. That is the duty of an officer. If you or Kirstein have another idea, one in which less deaths could be achieved – then please, enlighten us."

Armin took a deep breath. The Corporal's words had obviously shaken him. Finally, he exhaled, and when he straightened and looked up again, his expression was calm and his voice was clear as he said, "Actually – I think I might have an idea."


	7. Armin's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> THE PLAN...and Jean freaking out a little. But that's pretty much normal.

Chapter 7: Armin's Plan

* * *

 

"Jean, get down!" Armin shouted from across the length of the canyon, and Jean obeyed with the practiced instinct of someone used to working in tandem, rewinding his Gear and dropping straight down through the air. He swept up again into a winding arch, arcing the length of the canyon gracefully, landing with only a clack of heels on the stones beside where Armin was watching the proceeding of his plan. "That was a close call," said the blonde, to which Jean only nodded in response, his eyes straining over the cliffs.

The Recon Corps, or what was left of them what with a good third of them having been wiped out since the attack had begun hours ago, were spread out over the cliffs, running and flying back and forth and luring the Titans on, higher and higher, leading them to climb past the jagged drops of the cliff-walls and the wide canyons. Armin's idea had been a simple one, really, and Levi and Hanji had agreed to it almost immediately. So had the Commander, once they'd reached the assaulted HQ, found him out, and explained it to him.

The first step was this one; to lead the Titans up the cliffs, instead of stopping them as the Corps had been doing so far. They could still kill them where they saw the opportunity, but their goal was not to hold them back anymore. And so the Titans ascended, taking every step of the way towards Eren's hideout. And even without the Corps' help, it seemed the crazed creatures would have gone in just that direction anyway. Before they'd split up, the Corporal Levi had said something along the lines of the Titans being led by Eren's position, whatever that was supposed to mean. It was true that the Titans had totally disregarded the castle that served as their HQ, and if Jean was right and the Corporal and Mikasa had brought Jaeger up there as soon as they'd retrieved him from his Titan's body, then it did make sense to imagine that the Titans were aiming for the brat. And Armin had obviously come to the same conclusion, since the second step of his plan was entirely based on that assumption; and since the Corporal had neither denied nor belittled the strategist's guess, then there must have been some truth to it, because Levi obviously knew something that they didn't. How the creatures knew exactly where Eren was was beyond Jean's comprehension.

Then there was also the fact that the horde who'd attacked them comprised of about 90% Abnormals. As he'd been told by Hanji, such a high percentage of Abnormals had never been seen before, and Jean had a sinking, growing feeling that this whole mess was going to blow up in their faces too soon for his own liking.

So far, everything had gone according to plan. The Titans were following, surely and not-so-slowly, as the Corps' members led them up the jagged cliffs. Jean, Erwin and Levi were in charge of the operation, with Armin as the strategic coordinator, observing the entire thing from above and making them relay messages to each other when he saw something out of line.

Jean started from their spot on a high, jutting point of stone, when, out of the corner of his eye, his saw an unmistakable flash of a man coming up to meet them, skilfully avoiding all and every Titan in his way. Levi landed beside them, blades out and composed as ever, not even short on breath despite the fact that he'd just come up from the crux of the battle beneath them.

"We're nearly there," he said, looking at them, then pointed out to what appeared to be a small cavern higher up the slope. The spot was nearly right across from where they were, the Titans right between them. "They're here."

Armin and Jean exchanged glances, and the blonde, as the coordinator and sole strategist of the mission, turned to their Corporal. "Together," he said, his face set, and the three men launched themselves as one. They cut right through the fighting, not willing to lose time by avoiding the climbing Titans, and in less than a minute, using the Titans' massive bodies as leverage points for their gear, they were there, landing quietly at the entrance of the cave Levi had pointed out to them.

"Mikasa? Eren?" Armin called out, taking a step inside as Levi just sheathed his blades and stalked forward, swallowed up by the shadows almost immediately.

"We're here," came a voice that was unmistakably Mikasa's, clear as day.

Armin gasped and rushed forward, and Jean was left on the brink of the cave to gaze blindly into darkness. "Kirstein, quit standing around and get your ass over here," came Levi's voice. Jean huffed. Well, fine. He could have just asked nicely.

He stepped into the darkness, and a brief flash of pale skin to his right which he knew to be his Corporal's suddenly made him start. He gulped, parts of his conversation with Armin earlier as they rushed to the HQ, after leaving Levi and Hanji, coming back to him.

" _What did you see?" Jean said as they flew between the trees._

_"What?" Armin clipped uncharacteristically, not even sparing him a glance._

_"You were staring at Levi," Jean reminded him. "I'm not stupid, Arlert. You saw something, or remembered something, or – I don't know, but something happened back there to make you stare at him. What was it?"_

_"I didn't see anything, Jean," Armin denied, his voice nothing short of furious. Jean glanced aside at him before focusing again on the trees in front of him. What was that about? "Can we please stop talking about this?"_

_"No. The simple fact that you're denying it and trying to avoid the subject proves that you're hiding something. What did you see?"_

_"Nothing! Will you leave it, dammit! Has it even crossed your mind that it mightn't actually be any of your-" Armin stopped abruptly, but it was too late._

_"Any of my business?" Jean finished for him, his voice quiet and bitter. "Fine. I get it. Never mind the fact that you're after admitting that you saw something. But dude, the look on your face-! Armin!" Jean cut off mid sentence to shout his friend's name, the blond having suddenly twisted unsteadily in mid air and finished his flight on the ground, sprawled on his stomach._

_Jean turned back and dropped to his side, and was just grabbing at the smaller boy's shoulders when Armin shook his hands off violently, pushing himself up on his hands shakily. The blond coughed, wiping the back of a hand across his mouth to get rid of the dirt he'd had in it, then whirled around to sit on his ass, pushing Jean's help away more brusquely than necessary._

_Armin put his hands up to cover his face, seeming more tired than anything, and mumbled, "He hash a'hickee."_

_"What?"_

_Armin took his hands away from his face and repeated, more clearly this time, "He has a hickey."_

_Jean stared. "A hickey." Armin nodded in confirmation, and Jean blinked. "A hickey? You're telling me our Corporal, whom nobody's ever seen express the slightest of interests in anyone, has a hickey? A love bite?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Arlert, if you're fucking with me-"_

_"I'm not, alright? And I'm pretty sure it's Eren," the blonde finished, standing up and avoiding Jean's gaze as he brushed dirt from his uniform pants._

_Jean's jaw fell, then snapped closed again. " JAEGER?"_

_"Well, think about it. He – Eren – was absent for nearly the entire afternoon two days ago. And yesterday morning…" Armin blushed at that, still avoiding Jean's gaze. "Well, he was limping."_

_Have you considered that maybe they just had a fight?"_

_"Jean, I know Eren. He never took his shower after training, remember? He has something to hide. Maybe bruises. Or something else."_

_"Well, people get bruises from fighting, don't they?"_

_"He wouldn't be hiding them if he got them from a fight with the Corporal."_

_There was a silence, and then Jean groaned, turning away to stare at the ground bemusedly. "Shit. So you're telling me Jaeger is getting it on with the Corporal Levi. What the fuck?"_

_"I don't know, all right?! It's just a hunch. This is why I didn't want to tell you anything! I'm not sure! I've got no proof! So don't go around saying something like that when we're not even sure if it's true!" Armin shouted irritably._

_"Fine, fine. I won't. I wasn't going to anyway, so calm down. I just find it hard to believe that the same guy who beat him up and knocked one of his teeth out in public gets Jaeger on his hands and knees for pleasure. Actually, maybe it's not that hard to believe. D'you think the Corporal likes to inflict pain when he gets it on?"_

_"Jean!"_

_"Oh, relax, Armin. Have some fun already."_

_But even as they flared out their Manoeuver Gear and shot into the sky to continue heading for HQ, Armin somehow couldn't shake off the tinge of bitter jealousy that he'd heard in Jean's voice when he'd been joking about Eren and Levi._

Of course, Jean didn't realize he'd sounded even remotely jealous at the time as he replayed the memory in his mind. Or if he had, it certainly wasn't _Levi_ he'd been jealous of. Certainly not.

But as he stared into the darkness at the flash of pale skin he'd glimpsed in front of him, he still couldn't help but feel a tiny, tiny bubble of resentment emerging in his gut. It wasn't jealousy. Not quite. But it certainly didn't make him like that brat any more than before. Or was it even directed at Eren?

"Ackerman," Levi's voice said in the darkness. Jean didn't know how the hell those two and Armin saw anything in the darkness, because _he_ couldn't even see a foot in front of him. "Give him to me," Levi said.

"I can take care of him-"

" _Mikasa_ ," the other man interrupted irritably. "No, you cannot. I can. Now hand the brat over."

Was that… _possessiveness_? Jean shuddered. He was probably just imagining things. Or at least he hoped he was.

"Yes, Sir."

There was shuffling in the dark, and then Levi emerged with Jaeger slung over a shoulder, obviously passed out. "Still standing there, Kirstein? Follow me. Stay close. I mean that. Mikasa, too. The three of us are the best we have right now, with Eren out." Jean bristled at this reminder that he had ranked below the brat in the final stage of their training, but was completely ignored by the other two. "I want you two close to me at all times. Working on the assumption that the Titans out there are trailing and following Eren – whatever the reason –, by smell or other, we do as Arlert said. We keep close to the ground – zigzag between their legs, as low as we can go, and pass Eren around between the three of us. If all goes according to plan, the Titans will try to reach for us, thus upsetting each others' already precarious balance and creating a snowball effect that will weaken them at least long enough for us to take them out once they stop…rolling. The rest of the Corps, along with the Commander and Hanji, will wait back precisely for this. We three will be alone. Eren's survival will rest in our hands." Levi was saying this mostly for Mikasa's sake, as Jean had already heard the plan from Armin the first time he'd voiced it. "Now come on. We have no time to lose. Cadet Arlert, you stay back with Erwin and the Corps. You'll be part of the second wave."

Levi jumped out, Eren on his shoulder, Mikasa and Jean hot on his trail.

Straight for the Titans massing at the bottom of the hill.

And Jean really hoped that Armin's plan would work.

Because if it didn't…they would all be in the deepest shit yet.


End file.
